According to a Rolling Stone report, President Donald Trump has pledged to deploy “assassination squads” to eradicate drug cartel leaders from Mexico if re-elected in the upcoming Presidential elections. The report states that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, informed three of his associates that the US military possesses “tougher killers” capable of “waging war” against Mexico’s drug cartels amid the country’s escalating fentanyl crisis.
Drawing parallels to the US military’s elimination of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, Trump proposed the idea of dispatching special operations troops to carry out targeted assassinations within Mexico’s most notorious drug gangs, regardless of the government’s consent. As per the report, Trump suggested to an ally that the US government should compile a “kill list of drug lords” for special forces to pursue or apprehend.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of previous strikes by the US government, Trump argued that eliminating cartel leaders would instill fear in the “kingpins” and disrupt their drug operations. Trump has publicly committed to utilizing “Special Forces, cyber warfare, and other overt and covert actions” to inflict significant damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure, and activities if re-elected to the White House.
However, the report does not provide specifics regarding the proposed plans, such as the number of squads or troops to be deployed to Mexico or the extent of cooperation with the Mexican government.